To Vape or not to Vape... silly question.

Throughout the years I have smoked, eaten and drank marijuana in some of the most creative ways imaginable. I have had the pleasure of using many different types of contraptions to smoke it that have been key in how enjoyable the experience has been. You can roll up the herb with your favorite rolling papers or pack some into a pipe of your choice to smoke it. You can bake it into your favorite food or distill it into a liquid form to be mixed into your favorite drink.

Several years ago I was at a family function and my cousin's boyfriend pulled out this interesting looking contraption and said lets smoke! He called it a Volcano, we packed the herb into a chamber that reminded me vaguely of smoking a traditional hookah. Then he attached a large cellophane bag on its top and turned it on. The next thing I know the bag fills up like a hot air balloon and we were passing around this bag inhaling the vapor inside, getting very stoned. The real amazing thing about it was that the smoke it produced was so minimal but the weed tasted so fresh. The vapor smoke didn't burn or bite the back of my throat like smoking a pipe or a joint normally does. This got me thinking... 'how have I not heard of this thing before?!?'.

Then the flood gates opened with all these portable and set top vaporizers in the market place. There were so many different types of vaporizers available. So a couple years ago I decided to get my father a portable vaporizer for Christmas. I bought him one called a Wispr. This small hand-held piece of equipment is about the size of a pack of cigarettes and ran me roughly $120. He loved it, everyone who used it also really enjoyed it, my only complaint was that it made the herb taste stale. Honestly, with the high cost of kind buds, whats the point if you aren't able to get the great flavor.. oi vey!

So what does the average person to do? Well I am not your average person.. I make it a point to try as many vaporizers as I can get my hands on! There are big ones and small ones, vapes that are super simple to super high tech. Below is a list of the different vaporizers I have tried, though there are so many more out there. I also have at the bottom a couple vaporizer comparison charts I found on the interwebz..

I would like to add a side note that would apply to any way of enjoying herb.... Invest in a good grinder!

PAX

This sleek and portable vape is by far my favorite. It is very simple to use and really does a good job of preserving the taste of the herb. The vapor it produces is smooth on the back of the throat and it does a great job of not wasting the herb. It is about the size of an eye glass case and is very quiet and discrete. This one needs to be charged often with heavy use but can last up to a week or more with moderate usage. It comes with a mini-usb cable and small charging cradle.

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WISPR

The Wispr is one of the first vaporizers I tried and is still one of my favorites because of its ease of use and size. I don't use it as my main vape anymore because it is a little clunkier than I am now accustomed to. However it does a great job of producing a good vapor without wasting much. However, it tends to hit the back of the throat with a bit of a bite. It is about the size of a pack of cigarettes and does good a good job of being discrete in size. However it is not does not emit a whisper as the name suggests, instead a low audible hum can be heard. It uses butane to heat the heating element and has a pretty large fuel chamber so a full tank with moderate use can go for several days.

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VOLCANO

This vapor beast will always be dear to me because it was my inaugural fling. The Volcano as the name implies is quite large and produces a lot of vapor, though it requires a good amount of herb to get it going. It is great with a large group of people, one full bag of vapor can indulge 7 or more before being refilled. It does a good job of retaining the fresh taste of the herb and gives a smooth hit.

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IOLITE

The Iolite is one of the first portable vaporizers to hit the market. It is small and reminiscent of a walkie-talkie so it is quite discrete. Both the Wispr and the Iolite are made by the same company and operate pretty much the same way. Like the Wispr, the Iolite is not very quiet and uses butane to heat the heating element. The Iolite was superseded by the Wispr mainly because it is quieter.

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VAPIR NO2

This portable beast can easily satisfy the novice to the high tech. It already had predecessor when it was released, however it was the first of its kind in terms of its capabilities and when something gets endorsed by the likes of Willie Nelson it naturally will get lots of attention. The Vapir NO2 uses a battery to give an electric charge to heat the copper heating element. The digital display allows for the user to set how hot the heating element gets. I had great experiences with this vape as it gives a smooth hit but, it is a bit too clunky to really be considered portable. Because it has a variable voltage setting you decide how efficient it is with your herb and doesn't hit the back of the throat harshly at all, however if that is your thing you can crank up the voltage.

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VAPIR ONE

The Vapir One is one of the original portable, techno-savvy vape's to hit the market. It has a digital display to allow the user to set the heating element to their desired temperature. It is by far the strangest looking device I have ever used to smoke. This vaporizer uses a fixed electrical cord to power it so it really cant truly be considered portable. However, because of it's size and ergonomic shape it is definitely hand-held. The variable voltage switch is one of the coolest features this little guy offers as you can really control how much herb and how quickly it burns through your stash.

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Here are a couple pictographs I recently found surfing the interwebz. There are many other vapes out there.. Big thanks to: Mr. Vape Life & Portable-Vaporizers.net

More Detailed info graph comparison courtesy of: Portable-Vaporizers.net

Medical Marijuana.. Just a plant or an economic clandestine?

The Cannabis plant or Cannabaceae sensu lato plant is able to grow in diverse environments, can be produced quickly and has a variety of uses. The female version of this plant is called Marijuana and has the active ingredients that are used used in medicines and also for recreational purposes. The male version of the plant is called Hemp and even though it does not contain the same active ingredients of his female counterpart it has many uses. It is one of the strongest naturally occurring fibers and was once considered for use as cabling for suspension bridges. One acre of mature Hemp can be grown in 12-16 weeks and can produce the same amount of paper that requires four acres of paper grade trees.

Hemp is also nutritionally rich and as such is used as a dairy/soy milk alternative. Hempseed oil is made from pressing hemp seeds which contain a 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 essential fatty acids, which matches the balance required by the human body. Its oil can be extracted and used as a cooking oil amongst other types of oil. Industrial hempseed oil is used in lubricants, paints, inks, fuel, and plastics. Refined hempseed oil is primarily used in body care products like soaps, shampoos and detergents. Hempseed oil has also found some limited use in the production of varnishes and wood resins.



Marijuana also has many uses but it is widely used and accepted as a medicine. It can be smoked or ingested to get its medicinal properties. There are several active ingredients that are naturally only found in Marijuana. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) are the two most abundant active ingredients used primarily for their medicinal attributes. These components will interact with the patients chemistry in respectively different ways because generally the chemical make-up of everyone will differ slightly from each other. However subtle the chemical variances in humans are, the affects of Marijuana will be based on primarily on the type of Marijuana the patient is using.



Just like when we go to the store to buy an apple there are so many options... it may even get overwhelming with all of the different types of apples. Just like apples, there are many different types of Marijuana called strains. The many different strains of Marijuana can all be classified into three families and a lineage of each. The the ratio of Marijuana's ingredients or components differ in these three families. The three putative varieties are called Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis. However only two are used commonly, mainly for the abundance of their active ingredients. These are commonly called simply Indica and Sativa. The percentage of Marijuana's active ingredients vary in these two families and the different strains available will have a specific ratio of these active ingredients. The third lesser known lineage is commonly called Ruderalis and is known to have lower levels of these active ingredients. It is primarily used when cross breeding more potent and genetically diverse strains mainly because of its hardiness, flowering and size attributes.



Diversity is key. Finding the right set of strains will provide the patient with the appropriate diversity so that the patient can receive all of its medicinal benefits. This will ensure that the patient can experience all that Marijuana has to offer and that it will interact with their chemistry appropriately. The mistake most people who use Marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes make is to assume that the higher the THC content the better and this actually may cause the patient to experience undesirable side effects. Although these effects are minor they are nothing compared to the popular name brand Pharma and almost comical laundry list of life threatening side affects we see on TV or in advertisements. In contrast to this, the adverse side effects you may get with marijuana include acute paranoia, dry mouth and blurred vision. These side affects usually mean that the particular strain of marijuana the patient is using may not be the right one for their specific body chemistry, simply choosing a different strain should eliminate said effects.



-gingamann